


the things you are to me

by myaimistrue



Category: That '70s Show
Genre: Awkward Flirting, F/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Pre-Relationship, enemies to friends speedrun, eventually lovers???
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-14
Updated: 2020-09-14
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:42:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,247
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26455852
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/myaimistrue/pseuds/myaimistrue
Summary: Jackie has car trouble on a bad day. Hyde gives her a ride.
Relationships: Jackie Burkhart/Steven Hyde
Comments: 8
Kudos: 53





	the things you are to me

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't seen That 70s Show in a hot minute, but I heard they took it off Netflix and wanted to write a little something for one of my favorite tv couples. Since it's been a while, I think this may have mixed up the timeline of the show a little, but I hope you enjoy it anyway!

Jackie lifted her skirt out of the mud and peered down at her back left tire; sure enough, it was blown out. She cursed under her breath. She’d asked her father multiple times to get the Lincoln’s tires inflated after Mr. Forman noticed they were low. He’d promised her that he’d do it, but clearly, that hadn’t happened.

She bit her lip. She was on the side of an old back road, and the sun had dropped low on the horizon. There was a gas station up at the corner, but that was almost a mile or two to walk in the growing darkness while wearing a maxi dress and her favorite pair of wedges. But there wasn’t anywhere else to go, and not another car in sight. 

She started the walk, more upset than she had been in a long time, because why was she even in this position right now? Why had she been driving around aimlessly on a Saturday night, when she had friends to hang out with and things she could be doing? Of course, of _course,_ it was Michael’s fault. Michael, the moron who broke her heart, had walked into the Hub with Laurie. She watched as he bought her a pop and said something to her with that look in his eye she used to love, that look of pure adoration. Laurie had just pulled a face and turned away to find them a seat.

And Jackie, she had felt tears burning in her eyes before she could do anything about it. She’d grabbed her purse, muttered something about having homework, and fled. She’d heard Donna calling after her, but ignored her. And then she’d sped away in the Lincoln, heading nowhere, heading anywhere but where he was.

It was so humiliating. All of it, the cheating and the lying and everyone on planet Earth knowing about it all before her; it made her feel small. Jackie Burkhart never felt small.

Headlights were coming down the road toward her, and she smiled, relieved. She waved to flag the car down. It slowed to a stop in front of her, and in the strange dusk light, she thought she recognized the car. And then the window rolled down, and out came a puff of smoke. Of course.

“Jackie?” Hyde said incredulously. “What the hell are you doing out here?”

“My tire popped.” She motioned to the car behind her. “I was walking to the gas station on the corner. But since you’re here…” She managed to put on her best pout. “Please?”

He sighed, seemingly unaffected by her cuteness. “Get in.”

Jackie walked around to the passenger’s side of the car and carefully sat down, trying to avoid any part of her touching the fast-food wrappers littering the floorboards.

“You could clean your car, you know,” She remarked, wrinkling her nose in disgust.

“And you could walk the rest of the way to that gas station,” Hyde retorted, putting out his cigarette in an ashtray that desperately needed to be cleaned out. “Where am I taking you?”

Jackie sighed. “Just to my house.”

He didn’t respond, just started driving. The radio was playing some Led Zeppelin song that she couldn’t remember the name of, and she noticed how he tapped his fingers to the beat on the steering wheel; that might be the closest thing to dancing she’d ever seen him do. She smiled a little to herself.

The song ended, and that Andy Gibb song started up, “I Just Want to Be Your Everything.” Michael had bought her this record. They’d danced around in her room to it. She remembered it so clearly, how she felt then, like true love was something that really existed outside of fairy tales, and that she was experiencing it. She had felt so lucky to have found it so young. God, she’d been stupid. Before she could stop herself, she reached out and shut off the radio.

Hyde glanced over at her. “What’s with you?”

“Nothing, it’s…” Jackie looked down at her lap. God, she didn’t want to cry again. “Sorry. You can put it back on.”

“That song is shitty, I’m not putting it back on.” They stopped at a red light in a deserted intersection, and Hyde looked at her. She was taken aback by the eye contact; she couldn’t think of many other times he’d looked in her eyes like this without sunglasses in the way. “What’s wrong?”

Jackie bit her lip and felt her traitor eyes well up with tears. “It’s Michael.”

“Yeah?”

“It’s stupid, I know.” She took a deep breath, trying to steady herself. “It’s not like he was a good boyfriend. But I loved him, and… and he just cheated on me. For so long.”

“Listen, Jackie…” Hyde’s voice seemed so quiet in the virtual silence of the car. “I’m sorry. Kelso’s an ass, and you deserve better.”

She looked at him. She wasn’t sure what she was expecting him to say, but it wasn’t that, it wasn’t something so genuinely kind. “You think so?”

“Course I do,” He said, like she was dumb for even asking. “I know we kind of hate each other, or whatever, but you can do so much better than that moron. He’s an idiot, and you… you’re smart and you’re sexy and you’re fun.”

She picked at a loose string on her dress. “More than Laurie?”

“Are you kidding?” Hyde said. “Laurie’s one of the worst people I’ve ever met. You’re way better than her.”

Jackie smiled at him, and astoundingly, he smiled back. It was quick, but it was there. She wondered what it would take to see him smile like that more often.

A car honked behind them; the light had long since turned green.

“Yeah, yeah, we get it, asshole,” Hyde muttered as he pulled forward.

They talked for the rest of the car ride. Well, really, Jackie talked, and Hyde listened. But he didn’t seem to blatantly disregard everything she said like usual, and she didn’t make any snide comments about him, so that had to count for something. He even laughed at a joke she made.

When they pulled up to her house, she lingered awkwardly for a moment. “Thank you. For the ride.”

“Yeah, don’t worry about it,” Hyde said, clearing his throat.

“And…” Before she lost her nerve, she reached out and put her hand on his forearm. “Thank you for saying those things. It was really sweet of you.”

He looked at her with an expression she couldn’t decipher. “I didn’t say it to be sweet.”

“I know.” She squeezed his arm, then got out of the car, taking care to avoid knocking any wrappers out onto the curb. “I’ll see you later.”

“Come to the Hub with us tomorrow,” Hyde said before she could walk away. “Kelso isn’t coming, but everyone else is. I’ll give you a ride.”

She sighed. “I don’t know, I-”

“Jackie, come on.” He raised an eyebrow. “We’re smoking after.”

She crossed her arms, but smiled. “Okay, I’ll come.”

“Alright. Then I’ll see you tomorrow, Burkhart.”

“See you tomorrow.”

She walked to her front door, and when she unlocked it, she glanced back. Hyde was still there in his car, watching to make sure she got inside okay. She smiled even more, and waved at him.

He just raised a hand to acknowledge her and drove away, but she could have sworn she saw him smile before he did.

**Author's Note:**

> Title taken from, of course, "I Just Want to Be Your Everything" by Andy Gibb. I started listening to it while writing this to get in the mood, but now I kind of like it?? Uh oh
> 
> As always, comments and kudos are appreciated! Let me know what you think :)


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